Within Your Arms
by HeatherJS
Summary: Warm... Safe... Secure... It's hard to find a place that makes you feel all of those things at once and for the Warrior Princess, it's proven to be even harder when danger lurks around every corner. But what will Xena do when she does find it? Will her naïve stubbornness get in the way and recklessly let slip away her only real sanctuary... or will she hold on to it?
1. Why So Sad?

Chapter 1

It was perfect, absolutely perfect and everything had worked out flawlessly. She felt quite satisfied with herself, she had pulled it off and showed that arrogant, chauvinistic bastard that she did know what she was doing and she didn't need his help as much as he thought she did. She wasn't like those pathetic generals who couldn't get themselves out of a burlap sack- but though she had proven that time and time again he still felt the need to try and control her and she still couldn't believe that he had actually tried to talk her out of the brilliant plan she had come up with. It had been utter nonsense to consider that strategy a risk and she had actually believed that the War God would praise her for the tactful scheme that she had conjured up to take Thronion. There might have been some hazards with what she had planned but Xena just couldn't understand why he couldn't see the bigger picture of what taking that city was going to mean for her army.

They had argued for hours on the days leading up to the battle and it hurt her tremendously to think that he had such little faith in her after all this time and that he actually thought that this was a battle that she couldn't possibly win. For hours and hours he ranted that the Thronion army was a force that she was not ready to go against and that her army was not entirely prepared for them just yet, insisting that it was wiser to wait some more before attacking. But the Warrior Princess was just as stubborn as he was and thus refused to listen to him, of course. So, not paying attention to anything that he had to say, Xena had led her men against them and her army had taken a major blow with this battle- it annoyed her to some extent that Ares had been right about that, but they prevailed in the end and everything worked out just like she was certain it would.

So there she stood, on a small embankment overlooking the destruction that had been roaring with life just a few hours ago. Although she was aware of the fact that it was not likely to happen, she had been waiting for the fierce Olympian to arrive but she somehow knew that he was still probably too mad at her for defying him yet again and all she was going to get to keep her company on what should have been a joyous day for her victory was the cold night air.

She tried to tell herself that she really didn't care what he thought and his opinion didn't mean anything to her but she secretly hoped that this battle had secretly pleased him. She couldn't help wondering if he had been watching, he was never too far from any of her battles but this time, she hadn't felt his presence once during the whole fight. It had been days since she had seen him last, not since their last heated argument anyway, when she told him that she cursed the day that she had ever agreed to be his Chosen and that she wished that there was a way for her to go back in time and stop herself from taking that accursed vow with him. His reaction had been naturally violent. Before she knew it, he had viciously slammed her against the wall, literally knocking the air out of her lungs from the force he had used, brutally tightening his grip around her arms and then angrily telling her that she better get used to life without him in it and then he roughly shoved her back against the wall and left.

Although he had quickly covered it, she had seen the small amount of hurt that had flashed across his eyes when those words had left her mouth. She didn't care back then if she had hurt him, she was actually quite pleased with it and she was so angry with him for being as stubborn as not to see things her way and his complete lack of faith was something that she really didn't expect coming from him. This battle had been a calculated risk, yes, one that she was willing to take to show Greece just who she was and it worked of course- soon word was going to travel about it and the neighboring cities would be trembling. It was a triumphant day, one meant to celebrate her victory and spoils for a job well done, right, so why did she feel so damn sad?

A few seconds later, a soft sigh escaped her lips, followed by a light sniffle that she quickly tried to blame on the cold air that was whirling around her before one small tear fought its way free from the hundreds that threatened to fall and she swiftly wiped it away before more of them could follow in its place. She let her shimmering sapphire eyes wander over the vast battle ground for a few seconds more and then turned her head up towards the sky for a moment and just gazed at the countless sparkling stars that adorned the night sky. It wasn't long until a fierce cold wind had blown around her, whipping her hair wildly behind her and she immediately wrapped her arms around herself to provide a bit of warmth from the sudden assault, thinking that at any moment a new warmth would soon engulf her. She lightly ran her hands up and down her arms, softly tracing the bruises that still lingered on her arms from when Ares had cruelly grabbed her there. It was only getting later though as she waited and with it, the night was only turning colder and cutting her losses, she let her eyes admiringly dwell on the twinkling lights above her for a moment more and then decided to head back to her camp.

The Warrior Princess' thoughts had been completely consumed by something else though during her little walk. Instead of thinking about her next conquest, of new exciting places where she should lead her army, of how to successfully annihilate some more enemies, her mind had been consumed with thoughts of Ares. She missed him, Gods did she miss him more than she was willing to admit to herself. Now don't get her wrong, he had made her angry more than anyone else ever could and his arrogance most of the time just drove her mad with the way he would show up with that conceited smirk when things didn't go as planned when she didn't listen to him, making her want to just smack it right off his face. But despite her mistakes, he did understand her- how he did it, she wasn't really sure but he just did- and she had missed that while he was gone or at least that was what she was trying to convince herself to think.

One could have called what they had quite intricate indeed, they seemed like they were always fighting more than they were doing anything else and despite how complicated their relationship might have seemed, there was a genuine trust between them. Yeah, one could say she had an army, hundreds of men that had pledged their allegiance to her and who would have fought and died for her just to show their loyalty to her but she didn't trust any of them. They feared her, and with good reason too because she was not someone that anyone would want to trifle with on a good day and in the end they knew that she held the favor of the God of War and they feared him even more. One did not simply go against the feared Olympian, plus, to do so was to ensure their imminent death and although it did annoy her beyond words that her men were more scared of what Ares could do to them than what she could, the Warrior Princess did feel safe with him. Never was that feeling any stronger then when she was lying within his arms.

Regardless of the countless times she had said it to herself, and him for that matter, that she didn't need him in any way that mattered, she knew that as long as his arms were around her, there wasn't a single soul who could touch her and those nights were the most peaceful ones she had ever had. She knew that somewhere along the way during their complex relationship, between the fighting and the scheming, the manipulation and the long nights of love making- which they had both fooled themselves into believing was just nothing more than a bout of amazingly hot sex- she had fallen in love with him. That was something that she wasn't ever supposed to do but yet, she did, and somehow the Fates had completely different plans for her instead on how that was supposed to go. She denied it every time she had the chance of course, except maybe when she was alone but even then she wouldn't let her mind reside for too long on that subject. That was only asking for something that she wasn't entirely sure she really wanted to know the answer to.

While her mind was hastily having a fierce battle with that inner demon that was telling her to just embrace what she was feeling for the War God, trying to dispel those horrendous thoughts that were mercilessly fighting to break down that barrier that she had kept in place to protect herself from him, before she even knew it, she was back at camp. It was strangely quiet, there wasn't as much activity- not the regular celebrations that would take place after a well deserved victory- and she figured it had something to do with the significant amount of numbers that they had lost by engaging in this battle. She passed a few soldiers on her way to her tent, she didn't pay them any attention and just kept walking though, wanting to just wash this tiring day away and get some much needed rest.

"Xena!" a soldier saluted once she made it to her tent and held the flap open for her to enter, "Your bath has been prepared for you, is there anything else that you might need this evening?"

She just stared at him with his question, making the man grow tense under her gaze since he didn't want to get on her bad side and it seemed like she was already in a bad mood, she had been that way for days and he didn't want to be the unlucky one that she took out her frustration on by upsetting her more. The last person who did that, well, let's just say that he was now missing a vital piece of his anatomy and the soldier was not looking to repeat history, he was quite attached to all his limbs. It was an innocent enough question though, one that had been asked hundreds of times before but the only difference this time was that what she wanted this pathetic soldier wouldn't be able to give her. Her captivating sapphire eyes that the man had suddenly found himself getting lost in only seemed to harden at the realization, making him snap out of his little fantasy and gulp nervously and he soon directed his eyes to the ground while he waited for her reply, if he was even going to get one to begin with.

"No…" she coldly answered, moving passed him and into her tent, "… just make sure I'm not disturbed for the rest of the night."

With a respectful enough answer meant to please her, Xena had completely paid no attention to it and the soldier left her to herself and she just looked around the confines of her tent for a moment. Given the countless times she had spent in here, all of a sudden it just didn't feel right, it hadn't felt right in several days but just like all those times before, she pushed the reason why out of her mind and started to slowly take off her armor. She really wanted to get all this grim off and that warm bath was going to be her Elysian Fields.

She carefully took off her armor, moving slower than usual because she was really beat up after such a tiring day. That army had been a fierce foe and gave her troops and herself one heck of a battle. But now her muscles were extremely sore and they were just crying out for relief. She was so tense and every little movement seemed to cause an ache in places that she didn't even know could hurt. Having successfully taken all of that bothersome heavy armor off, Xena gradually slid herself in to the warm comforting water, sighing out softly as her aching muscles seemed to thank her for it. Gods what she wouldn't give at that moment to feel Ares' hands working magic on her body while he leisurely soothed away all of her pain, his skillful fingers did know how to make a woman relax.

It was a wild fantasy that wasn't going to happen though so she had to settle with relieving her body aches on her own, not being quite as successful with it as the skilled Olympian. There were just places that she couldn't reach and her own gentle massaging wasn't having the same effect as the one she wanted. A rueful sigh soon escaped her lips, she really didn't mean what she had said to him, she was just so angry with him and she just wanted to hurt him the one way she knew would cut the deepest and it was only when she was alone that she allowed herself for a few moments to admit that she really did cherish what they had with each other.

A light smile soon formed on her face from the thought- there was just no one else like Ares, he was unique and although he infuriated her to the point that words just couldn't describe it, making her want to just run him through with her sword just for the sheer pleasure of knowing that she could do it, he was hers, flaws and all and she missed him dreadfully.


	2. Perfectly Imperfect

Chapter 2

Damn her straight to Tartarus, she was just so Gods damn infuriating and he just couldn't see why she felt the need to always go against him. It was like some nasty little habit that she had to spite him whenever she could just to try and prove something, which was nothing mind you, he already knew how magnificent she was and she didn't need to put her life in danger unnecessarily to earn her place with him. There was never going to be anyone else, it was always going to be his sweet Princess but she could never seem to understand that though. Why did she constantly have to be so reckless, he must have had about five heart attacks watching that last battle and he was certain that his immortal life had been shorten considerably with how many times he had forgotten to breathe when she had foolishly gotten herself cornered and several times he could have sworn that she did it on purpose just to rattle his nerves pointlessly with that arrogant smirk that would come across her face.

Didn't she realize just how special she was to him by now?...Or maybe that was in fact the problem and she did know and she constantly did what she did just to aggravate him needlessly, to cruelly rub his nose in his one weakness, letting him know time and time again with just how vulnerable he had made himself by becoming so insanely attached to her and gamble with her own life when she knew damn well that he would have obliterated that entire field, her army included if something fatal would have happened to her. His gorgeous Princess was the chink in his armor and he didn't know what he would do if he ever lost her and had to spend the rest of his life without her.

He hated her for that- for having become the one thing that he had quickly learned that he couldn't ever live without. She was his Princess, his fire, his life, his reason for living and by all that was real and pure in this world did he love her, Gods did he love her! She was his ideal partner and she was far from being flawless, much like himself and she was perfectly imperfect and in his eyes she was everything and more. Now, he had never bothered to tell her that of course- might have saved them both a lot of useless fighting if he had only done so. You see, he could take on whatever dangers came his way without blinking an eye, defy Zeus and rebel against him when he knew that his fate would only lead him straight to the pits of Tartarus where he could cockily take on the Titans and destroy them single handedly if need be, however, there was one thing that he feared the most in this world. Despite his reputation and becoming the fierce and unforgiving War God that he had turned out to be, he was scared to death of telling his sweet Princess that he loved her. That was something that made knots form in his stomach and seemed to paralyze him like nothing else in this world could.

He thought that he had come alarmingly close a few times, the moment just felt right and it was just the two of them but then he had gotten lost within her blue pools and before he knew it he was drowning in them, being pulled down into their depths and bound there and the air seemed to have been sucked out of his lungs and he was suffocating and he was pretty sure he had an anxiety attack and he had quickly chickened out with how she might have responded. He knew that she loved him, well, at least he thought she did anyway, that was something that he debated with himself quite a lot and it was hard to tell sometimes and that only made it all the more harder to express himself to her with the fear that the only person he had ever truly loved would cruelly reject him. He was just as scared of hearing her response to his humiliating confession, he wasn't supposed to feel anything for her but yet he did and he absolutely loved what she did to him and at the same time he was frightened by it because he needed her like the fish needed water to breathe, and without her he would surely die.

Regardless of that though, he had told himself constantly that he wasn't as addicted to his sweet Princess as he really thought he was and that he could easily forget about her like he had forgotten so many women before. Never was that idea more prominent then when they would argue- she could get him so damn angry- but yet, at the same time, it was just the weirdest thing, and he wasn't really sure what to think about it because he loved it immensely and it just exhilarated his senses maddeningly for her. Indeed, arguing with his darling Xena was almost as good as when he would make love to her… **almost** as good though and when they fucked afterwards it was even better and the passion was even more intense. Sure, he would do his usual routine and just stubbornly leave in the mist of their heated confrontation sometimes, more so because he didn't want her to see that she had managed to hurt him with her words and it was better to leave her angry and frustrated with him then to let her know that she had wounded him like no one else could.

That last argument had really stung though; did she really regret the day that she had agreed to spend her life with him? What did he do that caused that reaction out of her, he had only warned her about one battle, just one that she had indeed proven that she wasn't entirely ready for and she retaliated back by attacking the one thing that meant the most to him, their bond… her. What followed was that he chose to stay away, to try and hurt her the way she did him and to show her that life wasn't as simple as she thought it was when he wasn't there. Once the battle was over though, he couldn't help the proud smile that had appeared on his face, she had in fact beat them when there was a high chance that she could have failed and his admiration for her grew even more. She was just so good!

He had missed her terribly while he was away, it was the worst torture he had ever known by not having her near him. Each night that he had watched her sleep, making sure that she wasn't in any type of danger, the only thing he wanted to do was hold her, to feel her body safely guarded within his arms and to be softly held within hers. He didn't know how much more of this torment he could actually take, although he was trying to teach her a lesson, it was killing him to be away from his darling Princess for so long and seeing her standing on that embankment alone, had nearly driven him insane. He wanted to go to her so badly but somehow he managed to restrain himself and seeing that sad look upon her face only chipped away more this ridiculous plan that he had and he was dying inside a little more each day and it only seemed to double since her unhappiness, that he could feel intensely, increased every time she expected him to be there and he wasn't.

When she had looked up towards the sky and those haunting sapphire eyes of hers connected with his, as if she somehow knew that he was watching her at that very moment, Ares felt this completely uncomfortable stabbing sensation within his chest that wildly grew within him the whole time he was spellbind by those baby blues.

It was beginning to be too much and in the end his resistance wasn't that strong really. Not where she was concerned anyway and he hated so much with how weak he had become because he needed her so damn much. When did that even happen anyway- he wasn't entirely sure when his focal point had stopped revolving around himself and had turned his precious Xena into the center of his universe. Ares tried to think of the exact moment when things seemed to have shifted and his cunning little Princess had somehow captured him enough to the point that he would have destroyed all of Olympus to ensure that she stayed with him if she was ever threatened to be taken away from his arms. He couldn't pinpoint it though, no…but the moment he had first laid eyes on her, his world had been knocked off its axis and he was enslaved to her from that moment on. He lived, slept and breathed her essence and he was always concerned with whether or not she was truly happy, it was quite pathetic really and somehow he had turned into one of those love sick fools.

As much as it irritated him to think just how much of a pitiful love struck puppy he had become, tragically following her every move with the hope that just for a moment she would turn those captivating sapphire eyes his way, jump starting his heart and making it pound maddeningly fast within his chest to the point that he thought it would just burst out of his torso, Ares wouldn't give it up for all the riches in the world. He had finally found someone who was his, truly his and he wouldn't trade a single moment that he had spent with Xena for anything. She was the one person that he trusted completely and more importantly she was his heart and that was something that he couldn't live without.

One could have said that he lived centuries just fine, easily doing as he pleased while he reaped the spoils of what his life brought him when he wanted and how he wanted. But that wasn't living, no, he was slowly dying throughout those miserable days that seemed to have started to just blend together until the day a fiery raven haired beauty had breathed life back into his immortal body and reawakened something that had long ago been forgotten and for the first time he had felt it beat. Although at first he didn't know it then, she had stolen it right there and then on that small battle field. The passion present in her eyes, making them shine vibrantly with the essence of War had exhilarated his entire being like nothing else had ever done before and she was a magnificent creature by the likes of which he had never seen in his long life.

That was all it took though, one glance into those mesmerizing blue eyes and he just had to know all about her, and definitely, figuring out what made her tick, how her mind worked and why she would do what she did was not as easy as he had initially anticipated. He loved it though because she challenged him just as much as he challenged her and they seemed to have been the perfect match for each other.

A fond smile soon formed on his face while the image of his precious Princess swiftly filled his head. But it wasn't long before that smile started to fade and a very unpleasant feeling began to form in his chest. He missed her and the longer he stayed away the more horrible the sensation in his chest would become.


	3. Just Breathe

Chapter 3

The luxurious bath… ok, maybe it wasn't so luxurious and it was kind of missing something that she had grown accustomed to but it had still been extremely wonderful nonetheless. It felt so nice to feel that warm, soothing water against her skin and it was somewhat easing the places that she was having a hard time getting to. So Xena just relaxed within it for a while longer, not in any real hurry to do anything else and she closed her eyes and leaned back against the tub, sighing out while she willed the rest of her body to just completely unwind after her long tiring day. She was still a little sore and those aches persistently refused to ease in anyway no matter what she did to try and soothe them and she shifted a bit restless to try and find a more comfortable spot that her sore muscles agreed with before she finally settled in one specific spot.

A few seconds later, she suddenly heard the sound of running water and, a bit alarmed that someone had managed to sneak inside of her tent with her actually not knowing about it, she quickly sat up, automatically reaching for her weapons only to discover that she was somewhere completely different than her old, familiar surroundings and that her weapons were nowhere in sight. She swiftly scanned the immediate area, not entirely liking her new situation or why she was even here to begin with.

Maybe she was dreaming…? But this didn't feel like a dream to her and she quickly shook that thought from her mind. Someone was playing games, with the Chosen of War as their main attraction and they were only condemning themselves to a fate worst then death with such child's play.

Seeing that as it appeared she was indeed alone, she relaxed a small amount, but only a little. That instilled instinct to never let her guard down fully was flowing through her system at the moment and she didn't like the fact that whoever did this was some sort of sick pervert that felt the need to try and take advantage of her while she was naked and vulnerable- though she was pretty sure that once Ares found out that they were going to be in even more excruciating pain- which was after she was finished wiping the floor with them of course.

There was one particular person she had in mind that would have been dumb enough to have even tried something like this while she and Ares were fighting. The sick bastard, well, he better enjoy the show while he still had eyes to see because once she found him she was going to gouge them out and it was going to be agonizingly slow and completely painful and a small wicked grin began to form on her face at the thought.

She continued to look around the room, this time taking notice of some of the things that were in it. She wasn't sure where she was exactly, this place was unfamiliar to her and although it seemed like she was inside, the bath that she was now in resembled a waterfall. The water seemed to have been coming out of nowhere and glided down the intricate crafted stones to fill, what now appeared to be a small lake of a tub.

Xena gazed around once more, trying to find some clue to reveal the identity of the one who had brought her here and then she caught sight of a bed… right, like that was going to happen and she just scoffed out irritated with the cocky son of a bacchae who thought that was going to go in their favor. Whoever it was though, must have been planning on making some overly dramatic entrance, some poor attempt to try and impress her and it was only pissing her off with all this aggravating waiting. She wished they would just show up already, that way she could get back to enjoying her bath without some perverted wacko disrupting her.

Growing bored of all this waiting, Xena sighed out annoyed and looked around once more for some clothes. Maybe there was something, anything she could use to cover herself with and soon her eyes landed on a deep red rose that was lying on the edge of the bath that hadn't been there a few moments before. She gasped out slightly, completely shocked by it, there was only one person who could have given her that. No one else knew or even bothered with such gestures and she cautiously made her way closer to it, still not sure whether or not this was all some type of elaborate trick meant to catch her off guard.

As she got to the lovely looking flower, she reached out and lightly touched against it, the hint of a faint smile forming on her face while the velvety petals caressed her skin. Then, she gently picked it up and the moment she did that she had felt him before she heard him and her grin widened even more. It was him… he was just such a showoff!

"Now this is what I call a proper bath!" Ares stated, relaxing against the side of the tub while watching every little move that his mouthwatering Princess was making.

Gods did she look so damn sexy, all of that tantalizing wet flesh just begging for him to run his hands teasingly over every single inch of that irresistible body. That was a vision that quickly consumed his mind- feeling her velvety skin against his- and he was having a very hard time with just staying on his side of the bath at the moment. He wanted to touch her so badly, by Chronos himself did he want to touch her and then familiarize himself with her once again but he wisely decided to restrain himself until he knew for sure whether or not she was still mad at him. He couldn't always tell it with his Princess and it was better to be safe than sorry later, though he was certain that the consequence was going to be so worth it though, just to see that fire sparkling in her sapphire eyes that he loved so much.

Now he did have his own little methods on how to go about quenching that anger that was building in her. He was so very tempted to do just that right now and just passionately crash his lips against hers until she was intoxicated with his maddening kisses and wanted him just as much as he wanted her and spend their time doing something that he would be remembering months from now. She was a sensational creature and she was his, all his and even though he wanted greatly to reconnect with her in a way that would surely leave them both breathless from the undeniable passion that would be engulfing them when they mated, what he really wanted to do was just hold her.

Xena just chuckled softly at his words and, turning around slowly, she finally looked at him and her eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight that she now had before her. Sweet mother of Zeus, she hadn't realized that he was in with her and she just couldn't think straight at that moment. He was casually propped up against the side of the tub, his head tilted back slightly with his eyes closed and his arms were spread out on either side of him as he relaxed there.

Her eyes were unsurprisingly drawn to his chest, his wet chest that had droplets of water lightly running down his torso. The image simply irresistible, making her to just want to trace those intricate little paths that the water had taken with her tongue, certain that the sensation would drive him mad. All the while, her wicked little mind started to fantasize with just how she should go about making the War God insane for her touch and she just bit her bottom lip lustfully while she took a deep breath, determined to pull herself together.

She tried to snap herself out of it, this wasn't the first time she had seen him like that and she shouldn't have been so taken aback from it and she mentally slapped herself for her weakness when it came to him. She must have taken one too many hits to the head on that battlefield and now her brain was completely scrambled with shamefully adolescent thoughts. There was just no other reason to explain it and that surely had to be it, she wouldn't allow herself to think otherwise. But my goodness, she just couldn't help it though, he was magnificently sculpted in all the right places, as if some artist had carefully taken their time and chiseled out every little muscle that adorned his well-built torso and sometimes, when she was sure he wasn't conscious of it, she just liked to admire him.

So since it seemed like he was indeed a little distracted at the moment, Xena allowed herself to take in his gorgeous form, running her eyes over him hungrily for those several precious moments when he wasn't aware of what she was doing. As if her wild thoughts weren't enough already, she was itching to seductively run her hands over his chest just so she could remember exactly just how strong he was, though she had possessively done that several times before…

Nevertheless, a few seconds later, while War's Chosen was lasciviously ogling him, a small cocky grin began to form on his face and the Warrior Princess knew that Ares was finally well aware of what it was that she was doing. Damn it, how did the cocky bastard always do that?! His eyes were closed but yet he always seemed to know what it was that she was doing or thinking and she chastised herself for her inability to keep him out like she wanted to. Somehow, he always found a crack through her wall no matter what she did to try and keep him on the other side of it.

She hated just how much he really knew her, the way he could sense, well, practically everything that was going on with her was just so infuriating. He was so annoying in that aspect, especially when all she would want was to be left alone so she could try to sort out the torment that would run wild through her mind sometimes. But of course, she wasn't that lucky of a girl. No, not at all and his self-conceited godly being would not have any of that and he would frustratingly stick around as if he was doing her some type of big favor by doing so, uselessly redirecting her focus to things that seemed rather meaningless to her at the time, making her go with him to some quite breathtaking places that she never took the time to appreciate because she was too busy being angry with him for always doing what he wanted and forcing her to go after she made it clear that she didn't want to go anywhere with him.

He would pay no attention to her childish behavior what so ever though, she could just be so naïve at times. He didn't care the slightest bit that she didn't want this and kept her hand firmly clasped within his and took her along with him to the amazing wonders that he had to show her until she eventually started to take notice of some of the things that were going on around her instead of sulking beside him needlessly.

But what she would still refuse to realize, was that he would make her forget what she would rather not remember before he finally brought her back to her tent where she would peacefully fall asleep in his arms as though she hadn't even been troubled by something to begin with. That was his plan all along though, to chase away what she would stubbornly refuse to share with him even though he already knew the doubts that complicated her mind.

Meanwhile, the War God had felt her hungry stare upon him the moment his lovely Princess had turned around. Her salacious sapphire eyes were eagerly roaming over him quite wickedly if he wasn't mistaken, no doubt that she probably had several wild fantasies running through that gorgeous head of hers. He lazily started to open his eyes and sure enough, there she was, looking at him rather ravenously, making the desire within him- that he always had for her- spike immensely before she quickly adverted her gaze after being caught to make it seem like she wasn't gawking at him.

She looked so damn cute when she was embarrassed and his amused smirk widened even more while he let his own eyes run over her sexy curvaceous form approvingly. He missed her presence greatly and that, well, that was something he wasn't particularly keen on going on without having it in his life constantly. It pleased him to see that at least she was holding the rose and didn't just dismiss it, which was good, she wasn't upset with him then and he relaxed significantly at the thought.

Trying not to let him notice that she was actually happy that he was there, Xena kept her distance from him, slightly sinking into the water a little to cover her exposed chest that the War God's gaze now seemed to be firmly fixed upon. She took a small bit of joy with the light frown that formed on his face when she did that, thus cutting off whatever naughty notion he might have had running through his mind of how he was planning to fuck her.

"What's with all this?" she asked, attempting to sound unimpressed with his efforts.

"Just a small peace offering, my dear." he casually responded and slowly started to make his way towards his Princess- he really needed to touch her and this small gap felt like the Aegean Sea and he couldn't wait any longer.

"Wow… **peace** , that was something I thought I would never hear coming out of your mouth." she taunted, moving faintly away from him while he continued to close in the gap between them, "You playing nice with others, that's gotta be tough."

"Don't get used to it now, I can assure you it won't last long." he firmly stated, making his way closer to her and just when he was close enough to feel her silky skin, his tricky Princess suddenly swam out of his reach, "But for you, I'm willing to make an exception."

The slight irritation in his voice did not go unnoticed by Xena but she refused to let him get near her though, making sure she stayed right out of his reach- all the while torturing him with just how close she actually was but at the same time denying him the joy of touching her the way she knew he desperately wanted to. This little cat and mouse game she was playing was quite exciting but it was getting a bit annoying too. He was going to get her in his clutches anyway one way or the other and there was no way that she was going to stop him either.

Nonetheless, the Warrior Princess was not easy prey by any means and every time it seemed like he actually had her, somehow she always managed to elude him yet again and his cunning little vixen actually had the audacity to splash water in his face as she swam away. Ooohh, she was such a deceitful imp! The nerve she had to do that only seemed to have exhilarated his desire for her even more though. An overwhelming excitement filled his body all of the sudden and he just thought it was so weird because who would have thought that something so simple could have been so exciting.

Still, despite her childish tricks, their little encounter only seemed to get even better and while Ares was getting over the initial shock of her completely uncalled for malicious attack against him, his devious Princess did it again and assaulted him with a face full of water. He absently wiped the water away, she was so going to pay for that! She couldn't just attack him and expect nothing to happen in return. He was the God of War! Dangerous, deceiving, and manipulative and he would sooner kill anyone just for looking at him the wrong way. She had no idea what she had just gotten herself into and a wicked little grin began to form on his face from the thought of what he was now going to do to her. He turned around slowly to exact his revenge on her just to find his Princess giggling softly and with the most beautiful smile adorning her gorgeous face.

The image alone had made his heart race maddeningly fast within his chest, the way her dazzling sapphire eyes were lit up, causing Ares to immediately get engulfed in their depths and he was frozen for a moment with the way they always seem to enchant him. She was even more stunning when she smiled, if that was even possible, and he always thought that she should do more of it. However, at the same time he liked tremendously that he was the only one that could make her smile like that and that was something that was privileged just for himself and no one else and he liked that she didn't smile that often except when she was with him. It made him feel like he had a part of her that no one else was ever able to capture and himself alone was able to bring it out of her.

"Are you mocking me?" he mischievously stated, using the momentary distraction of his question to get nearer to his gorgeous Princess.

The effect she had on him was truly amazing, she was blatantly laughing at him and instead of him reminding her just who was the God in this scenario, the sound of her laughter only made this indescribable warmth fill his chest and not for the first time he wondered just what his lovely Princess had done to him. This was quite a disrespectful act that others would have surely died from but with her, it just seemed like the most natural thing in the world.

"I wouldn't dream of it." she chuckled out, her playful grin widening even more while she allowed him to get closer, splashing more water at him, "Actually, I think I am."

"You know, such disobedience should be dealt with rather severely." he seductively whispered out, sending shivers down her spine from the tone he had used and it completely made Xena outrageously excited about just what he meant about that.

"Oh…" she inquired roguishly, raising a challenging eyebrow at him before she cunningly splashed more water in his face, "… just what are you going to do about it War God?"

She watched him carefully while he simply wiped the water from his face again, casting her an unamused grin as he did so. He then slowly started to circle her, there was no doubt that he was probably thinking of some poor attempt to try and get even with her but she was one step ahead of him of course and she could see the plan that was poorly forming in his head and she was going to squash it. The satisfaction of seeing his face once he realized that she had trumped his little plan was going to be priceless and the excitement within her was only growing at the thought. This was going to be good and she kept her eyes on him while he gradually continued his stalking.

She was ready for him or that was what she thought anyway as her wicked grin grew more and she was planning to attack him once he was close enough but then the next thing she knew, she was suddenly getting assaulted with water. With a surprised shriek, Xena quickly reacted and started to splash water to where she thought he was but she couldn't tell because the wave after wave of water crashing down over her was not allowing her to see anything and in the end she missed him every time and his amused laughter only told her that he was enjoying this way too much for her liking. He was such a sore loser!

"Ares!" she shouted out, trying now to protect herself from the ongoing attack that she was now well aware that she was not going to win against him, "Tha… that's… chea… cheating!" she sputtered out as some water got into her mouth that she ended up swallowing.

After a few more minutes of trying to fight her way out of the endless blows of water, not really sure where he was exactly, her battering soon stopped just as fast as it began and she just stood there, looking like a drowned cat while the War God looked rather pleased with himself for his work. She just narrowed her eyes at him, the manipulative bastard, oh how she hated that arrogant smirk that was now forming on his face and she wanted nothing more than to wipe it right off and she childishly splashed more water his way as she tried to compose herself.

"What do we say?" he innocently asked, taking immense joy at seeing her like that and roaming his eyes lecherously over her magnificently slick body that he still had yet to have the pleasure to be able to touch.

"You can just forget it, Ares! I'm not goin…" but the Warrior Princess was soon getting a mouth full of water before she ever had the chance to finish her words.

This time it seemed like a vicious attack and all she could do was cover her face to keep the water from blinding her. Despite this unceremonious bathing that she was now getting, she couldn't help the light grin that started to form on her face. She just felt so at ease at that moment and deep down she knew that it had nothing to do with this unique bath but with whom she was spending her time with. The War God, for some insane reason that she wasn't even going to try and decipher at that time, was that special kind of something that she needed. He made her feel when she wanted nothing more than to lock everything away.

"Alrig…" she choked out as she attempted to speak, immediately inhaling a flow of water that she gagged on, "… al… alri… alright…" she got out before she dangerously swallowed even more water.

A bit concerned with the way she was now coughing uncontrollably, Ares quickly ceased his assault, worry instantly filling his body at the distress that was now coming from hers. She had stumbled a bit since she was a little disoriented from the maddening attack and she continued to choke, desperately trying to fill her lungs with something other than water. A rather frightening experience since it seemed like she just couldn't breathe. Before she knew it, Ares had swiftly wrapped a possessive arm around her waist, steadying her footing before she could tumble beneath that accursed water, stopping the scary thought of being stuck within that watery grave that had cruelly invaded her mind for an instant and pulling her impossibly close to himself while she continued to violently cough against his chest.

After what seemed like endless hours of his sweet Princess gagging nonstop from the insane amount of water that she had managed to swallow, the War God's heart was racing wildly inside of his chest from the terrifying display. Every time she went to take a breath she would choke and the slight panic in her mesmerizing blue moons were only unsettling him more, not to mention the way her hands were digging viciously into his shoulders while she gasped for breath was unnerving him to the point of hysteria. He urgently, but gently cupped her face with his left hand, bringing her eyes up to meet his and keeping his other arm firmly latched on to her waist to offer her some type of solid ground while he attempted to calm her down.

"Just breathe, Xena…" he soothingly whispered out, softly letting his palm caress her cheek, "… take a breath…" he inhaled deeply once, as if trying to show her just how simple it really was and he exhaled a little relieved when she attempted to do just that before she started coughing wildly again.

"Breathe with me, baby…" he took a hold of her hand and placed it against his chest, letting his hand rest overtop hers to keep it there and letting her feel the rhythm of his own breaths while he slowly breathed in and then out. He kept his eyes locked with hers the whole time and tightened his hold on his Princess to let her know that he wasn't going to go anywhere with the way her grip on him had tightened significantly when he first removed his hand from her face.

Although he was actually a complete mess on the inside, the fear of the possibility that she could very well slip right out of his arms from something that was so ridiculous by choking when their line of work had entailed far more dangerous situations that could really strike fear within his immortal being of losing her forever, one never would have guessed that Ares was now panic-stricken with how unbelievably calm he seemed.

She could feel his heart beat and he had to keep it steady in order to relax his precious Princess and get her to try to take less frantic breaths. She had let panic over take her from the first time she attempted to breathe but got nothing but water instead and she just needed to focus. He stared deep into her slightly fearful eyes, his own mind having a complete anxiety attack while he tried to draw all of her attention to himself and get her to relax.

To say that the Warrior Princess wasn't scared of her own little predicament would have been a lie, she was in fact quite alarmed by not being able to breathe properly. She tried to focus on the steady tempo of Ares' breathing though and not on her lack of air that she just couldn't seem to fill her lungs with no matter what. It seemed never-ending really, seconds turned into minutes but gradually, while she continued to stare up into his warm auburn eyes, feeling that impossibly hard to miss strong beat of his heart against her palm while it was lightly rising and falling with his every breath, her breathing leisurely started to fall into cadence with his.

They took slow, deep breaths together while their bodies started to become more aware of just how close they actually were to each other, seeming rather transfixed within each other's gaze now than they were on their previous goal. They were completely fascinated with each other as their hands lightly started to roam against the other's soft flesh, each one delicately exploring the wonder that they had found in the other.

Her hand lightly wandered over his bare chest, it was indeed strong just like she knew it would be and then she softly placed her palm back over his heart. That was something she had missed feeling over the last week. One certainly would have found it strange and she was pretty sure that she must have been losing her mind completely, but its unique rhythm brought her a sense of ease that she never found anywhere else.

"If you wanted to kill me, I can think of a lot more easier ways to go about it then asphyxiation." she playfully whispered out, her voice a little raw from all that coughing.

He couldn't help but chuckle softly at her morbid sense of humor and he gently started to run his fingers against her cheek again, resting his forehead against hers for a moment and relishing at being able to touch his darling Princess without the worry of her being snatched away from him. He really didn't know how he would react if he ever lost her and that was something he truly didn't want to face the reality of and he quickly expelled the horrid thought from his mind while his grip around her waist became a little tighter.

"Where's the fun in that?" he huskily stated, lightly running his thumb against her bottom lip, making her shiver slightly while he casually started to trace along her jawline.

Within seconds, Ares found himself getting completely lost within those enchanting sapphire eyes of hers. He wasn't sure how they always managed to grab onto him so strongly and trying to get himself free from their clutches was a hopeless battle, one that he really didn't put up much of a fight on anyway. They were a sight that he willingly gave into every time his gorgeous Princess flashed them his way, whether they were filled with anger, passion, excitement, it just didn't matter in the end because she was his and he loved everything about her.

As his hand started to teasingly move up and down her back, Xena was having a very hard time controlling that desire that was gradually building in her since the moment she felt his presence and his maddening movements were not helping any. Quite some time had passed since he had touched her, a week really but it had felt like years even though her body certainly hadn't forgotten what it was like when he did and it was going absolutely crazy from the sensation and she defensively tried to fight against it at first but in the end her body won out and she allowed herself the pleasure of his gentle strokes upon her flesh.

She could see the unmistakable want that was forming in his eyes and you could call her completely bonkers if you liked but, there was just no mistaking it no matter how many times she tried to lie to herself- there was a fire between them that never seemed to be able to be extinguished and she did want him just as much as he wanted her at that moment.

Her breaths had become huskier while his torturous movements against her skin drove her mad, her mind completely clouding with desire as he started to slowly lean in closer to her. He inhaled deeply against the side of her neck for a moment, breathing in that addictive scent that had nearly managed to break down his self-control right there from just smelling it and he nuzzled his face against hers and his mouth moved to just hover mere inches away from her lips.

She wanted that kiss, dear Gods did she want that kiss and he knew it too and he roguishly delayed that ever so wanted carnal desire that would have taken place the moment their lips had even touched. There was no doubt that they would have devoured the other from that sensual act, ravenously trying to drive the other even more crazy from their frantic kisses before one of them had eventually given in to the intoxicating and maddening effects of the other's skillful ministrations, therefore, unleashing a whole other sense of an outrageously passionate encounter that consisted of addictive moans and uncontrollable screams of pure pleasure while they made love relentlessly throughout the rest of the night.

But much to the Warrior Princess' surprise, the moment she felt his lips lightly brush against hers, so light that she wasn't even sure it had actually happened really, instead of being assaulted by his ferocious kisses -that always seemed to drive out any rational thought that she might have tried to conjure up in her mind of why she shouldn't mix business with pleasure- quickly replacing it with the feel of his hot mouth against her soft flesh that drove her senses absolutely wild with each exhilarating caress, she suddenly found herself experiencing a whole other sense of much welcomed pleasure from the outrageously gifted War God.

A completely satisfying moan had made its way out of her mouth while she gave herself over to his ministrations and letting the God know that he was well on his way of having his Princess melt completely into him.

"Ares…"


End file.
